Treat social proof on a professional profile as a way to lower the risk of replying. A buyer wants a quick reason to believe that you understand the work, that other people trusted you with it, and that something changed afterward. Build the profile around proof a buyer can inspect, then make that proof easy to find. Client success is presented as the highest level of social proof.1 A client journey that shows the before and after is presented as the most persuasive form when you can share it.2 Credentials provide context, while proof shows why the work mattered.
Decide what proof belongs on the profile
Choose relevance before volume. Each proof item should answer a doubt the reader already has.
Social proof is evidence that gives people comfort during a buying decision.3 A mix of different proof types can give people confidence to buy from you.4 Sort what you have into a few useful groups:
- Client outcomes, especially a journey that shows what changed.
- Customer voice through testimonials, reviews and case studies that let people see your command of the work.5
- Recommendations, credentials and relevant experience.
- Outside recognition and visible activity that lets a buyer inspect how you think.
Ask whether a stranger can quickly see who trusted the work, what changed for them, and what part you played. Keep the items that answer those questions.
Start with client outcomes
Start with outcomes because they give the reader a reason to believe the work has mattered to someone else. Collect the story in a format that makes it easy for the client to participate.
Ask a client who is open to it whether they would join a quick video interview to document their experience and journey.6 Package the result as a video, carousel or formal case study.7 Use the conversation to draw out the starting point, the change and your contribution.
Ask what was happening before you worked together, what changed afterward, and what your work enabled. Keep the answers close to the client's experience. A claim about your skill carries more weight when the reader can see the customer's journey around it.
Client success stories can be harder to collect because many clients do not want their involvement discussed publicly.8 When you do get one, make the most of it across the profile and your public activity.9
Write the About section around proof
The About section should help a buyer understand your relevance before they inspect the rest of the profile. Give it a short proof statement that connects your work to the outcome a buyer cares about.
Include one or two sentences of social proof in the About section.10 Frame the section around the buyer's achievement and how you enabled it.11 Describe the result in plain language, then give the reader enough context to understand your role.
Read the section as someone who has never spoken with you. Can they tell what kind of work you help with? Can they see why your experience applies to their situation? If the answer takes several paragraphs, remove claims that do not help them make that judgment.
A LinkedIn presence makes cold outreach more credible.12 The profile needs to support the message a prospect receives, with proof that is easy to recognize when they check your page.
Add relevant experience, recommendations and credentials
Use the rest of the profile to verify the story in the About section. Each item should give the buyer another reason to trust the connection between your experience and their problem.
Your profile, title and company details can build social proof and credibility.13 Keep those details consistent with the work you want buyers to associate with you. Relevant experience should make the client outcome feel plausible, while the outcome gives that experience a reason to matter.
Recommendations provide verification and act as testimonials of a person's work ethic and skill set.14 Use them to add another person's account of how you work. A recommendation that speaks to the client's experience will do more for the profile than praise with no connection to an outcome.
Consider profile sections for licenses, certifications, honors and awards.15 Choose the sections that support the work you want buyers to discuss. Credentials can establish context; customer results show what happened in practice.
Use outside recognition as supporting proof
Recognition from elsewhere can help a buyer judge how your work is regarded beyond your own profile. Place it where the reader can connect the recognition to the expertise you want to discuss.
Press and mainstream media coverage can have a large impact on how a person is perceived.16 Share media coverage on LinkedIn when you receive it.17 A publication, podcast feature or Top 100 listing is easy to celebrate because another party has recognized it.18
You can also pursue relevant coverage by offering content that is newsworthy and relevant. That type of content is highly likely to be published by local newspapers or industry magazines.19 Use the resulting recognition to give buyers another path for checking your experience.
Let activity reinforce the profile
A profile gives people a place to assess you, while your activity gives them something current to assess. Keep the activity close to the questions and work your buyers care about.
Social media can provide social proof, particularly around content marketing.20 When people share your material with their networks, they effectively endorse what you have to say.21 Share relevant content as part of social selling,22 and interact directly with potential buyers and customers.23
Monitor the questions and conversations people are having, particularly on LinkedIn.24 Use those conversations to show how you think and where your experience applies. Bring some aspect of yourself to the conversation so the profile feels connected to a real person.25
What not to do
Share customer testimonials and feedback even when you worry that competitors may contact clients or that you may sound boastful.26 Do not postpone sharing social proof and evidence of success when you want the profile to create impact.27 Center buyer achievements and the part you enabled.11
Do not make a blank writing request your only way to collect client proof, since busy clients often never complete it.28 Do not expect social selling to solve all your sales needs or bring customers through the door on its own.29 Do not use social selling to close deals immediately or move straight to the bottom of the funnel.30
Do not open a relationship with an immediate meeting request to discuss a product.31 Do not let your public activity become bland when buyers are already sorting through a lot of noise.32